REYNOLDS v. SIMS (1964)
- Alabama: 1 senator per county
- some counties were much larger than others (41:1 ratio)
- two central questions:
*did this violate the 14th Amendment (equal protection)?
*do both houses of state legislatures have to be
based on population?
- Ruling:
1. apportionent of both houses must based on population
a. "representatives are
elected by voters, not farms"
b. the impact of everyone's
vote must count equally ("one person, one vote")
2. state senates cannot be compared to the US Senate
a. the apportionment of
2 US senators per state resulted from a compromise that was
necessary to the creation of our nation
3. however, house and senate districts can be different
sizes and represent different constituencies
a. NC is an example of this:
1. NC HOR = 120 members
2. Senate = 50 members
*therefore, senate districts must be larger